Electric-circuit closer.



PATEBTTED JAN. 17 LR. NORSTROM & H. M. GRAIF.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CLOSER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1903.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 780,439. PATENTED JAN. 1'7, 190! J. K. NORSTROM & H. M. GRAIP.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CLOSER.

AP PLIOATION FILED JUNE 18, 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented January 17, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN K. NORSTROM AND HENRY M. GRAIF, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIs, As,

SIGNORS TO AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLI- NOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC-CIRCUIT CLOSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,439, dated January 17, 1905. Application filed June18, 1903. Serial No. 161.979.

To all wit/mt it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN K. NORSTROM and HENRY M. GRAIF, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have in- 5 vented certain neW and useful Improvements in Electric-Circuit Closers; and we hereby 3 the accomplishment by the subscriber of certain preliminary steps of such a simple and obvious nature as to require of the subscriber no greater mental exertion than 1s requlred to be usedin the employment of the ordinary manual exchange systems.

able that the arrangement oftheapparatus be such that the operation-of the parts in their normal or self-suggestive sequence will produce in proper sequential relation the results 3 sought to be attained, so as to make instruction in the use of the devices. practically unnecessary. It is primarily with a view to accomplishing these disiderata that our invention is designed; but other and further ob- 3 jccts will become apparent to those skilled'in the art from the following description and the appended claims. 1 I

Referring now to'the drawings,wherein we llEWB illustrated an operative embodiment of t our invention, Figure iis atop plan view of our improved circuit closing mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a distorteddiagrammatic plan illus-v trating certain possible .circu-it connections with'thc same. Fig. 3 is a transverse verti-.

45 cal section taken O'n' line 3 3' of Fig. -1. I F ig. t is arcar elevation of apart of the apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section on line It is also desir-,

one of the primaryactuating-wheels in op eration to close its contact-springs. Fig. 7 is 5 a fragmentary transverse section on line 7 7. of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view of the lower po'rtion'of the receiver-hook and'its associated devices.

Referring now to the. drawings, 10 indicates a base-block, and 11 11 side pieces of a supporting-framework, which may be of Wood or other preferred material. 6o

10 indicates a metallic base-plate having secured thereto or formed integral therewith such standards or supports as are provided to afford bearings-or mountings for the mechanism employed.

' 12 indicates a longitudinallyextending.

. main shaft findingbearing atits opposite ends .in the standards 13 and 14 provided therefor.

The said shaft is adapted and arranged to afford support for the primary actuating mem- 79' bers of the apparatus which require to be ac-- tuated by the user ,in order to enable the de vice to automatically perform its function. i

The primary actuating members are herein V illustrated as three in number and comprise 75 two toothed finger-wheels 15 and 15 and a segmental cam member to be hereinafter morefully described." The Wheels 15'and 15 and their respective associated devices are identical in .their construction and arrangement, and it will thereforebe, necessary to describe one only of these members.for instance, the

wheel 15-it.being understood that the wheel v15 embodies exactlylsi'milar parts indicated 0 r e's by similarnumerals difieren- 5 tiated. by the-exponent character a. The wheel 15 is provided with a series offinger notches 16, separated by teeth 17 and provided with a smooth peripheral surface 19, adapted to have suitably marked thereon in 9 dicia, such as numbers or letters, to identify the various finger spaces or notches'in the face of the wheel. ,The wheel "15-is loosely mounted on the shaft 12, but is adapted .to be connected therewith for rotation in one'direcr 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail illustrating 1 tion through theintermediary ofaratchet-aud-- dicates a ratchet keyed to the shaft, and 21 a pawl pivoted to a suitable part of the wheel and held in engagement'with the ratchet by the spring 22.

23 indicates a coiled spring one end of which is secured to the wheel 15, the other end of which is suitably fastened, as at 23', to the framework of the device.

It will be apparent from the illustration and description that when the top of the wheel 15 is drawn forward toward the front of the mechanism the pawl 21 may slip freely over its ratchet 20 without turning the shaft 12; but at the same time the spring 23 is put under tension; If now the wheel be released, ittends to returnto its normal or initial position under tensionof the spring 23, inits movement rotating with it the shaft 12 through the operative engagement of'the ratchet-and-pawl devices.

24 indicates generally a fan governor or retarding device of well known construction geared to the shaft*12 to regulate or retard its rotative speed, so that the return of an acthe contact-springs.

tuating device to normal position after an initial movement therefrom will be suitably slow.

Associated with each primary actuating device is a set of circuit-closing springs normally arranged in open position and designed to be closed by the operation of the primary actuating mechanism. h

The devices associated with wheels 15 and 15 are identical, so that again one set of devices only will bedescribed.

25 and 26 indicate two contact-springs associated with the primary actuating-wheel 15, such springs being insulated from each other and having their major portions arranged in vertical parallelism at a suitable distance from the wheel 15. Interposed between the primary actuating-wheel and the contact-springs is amotion -'translating mechanism arranged to transmit from the wheel when rotatediin one direction only to the springs lateral motion to close the springs a. nhmber of times determined by the number of teeth of the Wheel 15 passing thereby. 1 This translating mechanism comprises a standard 27, whereon is pivoted a bell-crank lever 28, the shorter horizontal arm whereof projects intothe path of the teeth 17 ofthe wheel 15 and the longer arm of which depends into proximity to the springs 25 and 26. The horizontal arm of the lever 28 is preferably provided with an antifriction-roller to receive the thrust of the teeth of the primary actuating-wheel, while the longer arm is providd with insulated pin 28, projecting laterally therefrom and overlying the spring 26 in front thereof, so that when the horizontal arm of the lever is depressed the depending arm, with its projecting pin 28, is moved to close A leaf-spring 29,- secured ,to v the depending arm of the lever and slidingly engaging guides 30, mounted on the primary actuating-wheels 15 and 15.

" to the framework of'the device.

base-plate, serves asa damping-spring and to normally position the bell-cranklever.

Referring now to the segmental-cam to, it will be seen that it generally comprises a body member 31, connected with the shaft 12 by a pawl and ratchet and normally held at one limit of its movement by a coiled spring-in a manner similar to the wheel 15, the ratchet-and-pawl devices being generally indicated at 32 and the spring at 33.

34 is an operating-handle for the cam'memher. which when the device is in normal condition stands preferably in vertical position. The member. 31 is provided with two laterally and peripherally separated segmental cams 35 and 36 ,of'suitable proportions, preferably formed integral with the body 31. .The larger cam '35, having the most extended peripheral primary actuating device heretofore adverted surface, is arranged in the lower relative position and is offset tothe side of the seg:

mental member adjacent the wheel -15, the.

of the cams 35 "and 36 has associated there-- with a set of contact-springsand a transmitting device similar to those associated with two springs associated with the cam 35 are indicated at 37 and 38, respectively, while three springs associatedwith the cam 36 are indicated at 39, 40, and 41, respectively. It

The

will be understood that these springs are ar-n j ranged in the same manner as the springs 25 and 26, associated with the wheel-15, and that the bell-crank transmitting device associated with each set of springs is identicalwith the lever devicesprovided for the wheels 15 and 15. These transmitting devices need not, therefore, be specifically described; but their parts will be designated by the numerals employed to designate the like parts associated with wheel 15, the devices associated with the cam 35 being distinguished by the exponent.

character b and those associated with the cam 36 by the exponent character o.

45 indicates a receiver-hook provided with a vertically-disposed. stem 46, arranged to slide vertically in guide.47, suitably secured provided with a spring 48,. tending to normallyhold it in raised ppsition, said spring The hook is.

being of such strength, however, that the weight of the receiver suflices to overcome its tensionand depress the hook. ln'the present other end arranged to slide between two insulated pins 49 and 49, secured tothe stem I20 illustrative embodimentwe have shown the 46 ofthe hook If desired, the spring; 48 I may, as herein illustrated, be employed as the switch -spring, whose function is too commonly known to need specific description. To this end the contact-pins 50'and 51, projecting from a suitable part of the framework, such as the side piece 11, are arranged to limit the vertical movement of the spring 48 and act as the upper and lower contact-points of the receiver-hook switch.

From the preceding description it will appear that the wheels and 15 and the segmental cam member 31 may any one be manually moved in a forward direction-that is to say, the upper portion of the wheel or segment may be drawn toward the front of the machine without' actuating its bell-crank lever to close the cpntactsprings associated therewith and also without rotating the shaft 12, as heretofore described. Upon the release of the wheel or segment, however, it will be apparent that it will return to its initial position under tension of its spring, thereby depressing the horizontal arm of the bell-crank lever associated therewith during the passage of each toothor its cam, as the case may be,

.and closing the associated contact-springs a number of times or a length of time corresponding with the number of teeth or the length of the cam passing the horizontal arm of the lever. By the construction herein illustrated, however, we provide means for making the return or actuating movement of each of the primary actuating devices mutu ally interdependent in such a way that when the actuating devices are initially operated in their normal sequence they will automatically perform their functions in proper relative order. I

In the operation of the telephones now commonly employed in conjunction with manually-operated exchange systems the usual sequence of operation is as follows: The receiver is first removed from its book to prepare the.

line for the transmission to central of information as to the number desired to be called, the number is called and the connection given by central and after the conversation is finished the receiver ishu'ng upon its hook to inform central that connection may be broken and the lines restored to their normal condition.

that these operations maybe followed out in the automatic calling device, the receiver being first removedfrom its hook, the number wheels being then actuated to call the number, then the segment arbitrarily: depressed to secure the connection of the lines, and when the conversation is finished the receiver being placed upon its hook to disconnect the.

lines, the single operation of hanging up the receiver serving to cause the performance of I It is our objectto so ar'-" range the devices of our callingmechanism To this end the acsive release-for action of all of the set devices of the series.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that associated with the crank-lever 28 of v the wheel 15' is a catch or detent 57, carried by or formed integral with the-ro'ck-shaft 58, mounted in suitable brackets provided therefor in the frame and having anioperating-arm -59 extendingforward to the front portion of the device. A suitably-arranged coiled spring 60 tends to hold the rock-shaft 58 in such position that the detent 57 is held inraised position against the stop 61, carried by one of the supporting-brackets, in which position the detent 57 lies immediately behind the depending arm of the bell-crank lever in position to prevent said arm from moving rearwardly or in a functionally-operative direction. Accordingly when the detent is in operative position the wheel 15 may be given itsinitial movement in a forward direc-- tion, the teeth 17 passing the bell-crank lever, throwing its depending arm away from springs and the detent 57 but it will be'apparent that the lever 28 and detent 57 form a stop to prevent the return of the wheel to its normal position. When, however, the detent 57 is removed from its position in rear of the depending arm of the bell-crank lever,-

the latter is at liberty toswing rearwardly and the wheel is free to return to normal position.- Similar catch mechanisms are provided for the wheel 15, the parts being indicated by the same numerals as the like parts,

associated with wheel 15, distinguished, howvever,by exponent a. The operating arm 59 of the detent of wheel 15*is, however, slightly differently arranged, such arm 59 extendinginto close proximity to the wheel 15 and pro-' vided at its free extremity with an, upturned hook or stop portion-(fit. Aypin 63 is arranged to project from wheel 15 in such position that during the rotation-of the wheel 15 it strikes the ,operating-arm' 59, depressingthe latter to remove 'thedetent 57 from its operative position. The hook 62 of the detent-operating arm is so arranged as to re" vceivethe pin; 63 when the arm is depressed.

and form a positive stop for the movement of the wheel15- in its return 'direotion. ,Detent and operating devices similar to those described are -.provide d fo r thelever 28*,

the parts being indicated by the same numer-J als as like parts in the mechanism heretofore described and distinguished by the exponent b. It will be understood, however, that'the' operating-arm 59 of the detent'device is arranged for-actuation by the pin 63o'f the wheel 15. A v

The operation of the detent mechanism of the first wheel 15 is made dependent upon the initial movement of the segmental cam memher '31. This may be accomplished by the v arm 69 is provided with an elbow 69', ar-

ranged to overlie the forward extremity of the operating-arm 59 0f the detent device or.

, it is necessaryto ground both sides Z and Z of wheel 15, while the arm 68 is arranged in the path of movement of pin 70,- mounted on the suitable portion of the, segmental cam member 31 in front of the shaft 12..

r and the parts thereof'are indicated by the same,

' erative position.

e The detent device associated with the bellcrank lever 28 is similar in its general con-.

struction to those employed in conjunction with the other I translating instrumentaliti es numerals of like parts of the other devices difl'erentiated by the exponent character c.

The operating-arm 59 however, is opera- 'tively associated with the movable receiverbook, so that when the receiver is upon its hook the detent is' moved to inoperative position, while when the receiver is removedfrom its hook the accompanying movement of the hook serves to bring the detent too'p- To this end the hook-stem 46 is. provided with two pins 71 and 71-, between which the'operating-arm 59 of the detent is arranged to play.

While the devices herein described are sus ceptible of use under varying conditions and maybe readily changed in minorparticulars to suit its condition 'of use, the specific construction herein shown and described is particularly adapted for use in telephone systemsconstructed and arranged in accordance with 7 our inventionidisclosed in our pending application filed May 18, 1903, and serially humbered157,552.

In Fig. 2 we have shown diagrammatically the connections that would-be employed between the springs of the. circuit-closing de:v

vice and thevarious circuit-wires in adapting our invention to its use 'in'such environment,and reference isnow made to such view.

Zand Zindicate the two sides of the .line circuit, the line-wire'l being'connected-with the spring 26 of the pair associated. with the wheel 15*, while theline-wirel' is connected with the spring 26 of the pair associated with wheel 15. All of the stationary contact-springs of the sets of devices'viz.,springs-25, 25,

37,- and 39+-are connected in common to a.

grohndwire g; Y The springs 38- and 4O are tapped toa wire it to theside'l -of the-line.

The spring 41 is direct-connectedby a wire with the side Z of the line, v y

In the operation 'of 'oursystemas set forth in the application heretofore referred to it is necessary to first ground the line-Wire Z one or more 'times toprepare-the central instruments to receive-thenumber of the subscribers station which it is desired to call. Next the sidel of the line is grounded anumber tive position.

' bell-crank 28,

of times corresponding with the number of the subscribers station to be called, and then the side l of the line is again grounded for' a suitable length of time to ring the called subscriber. These operations are all that is necessary .to secure-the party desired, while after the communicationiscompleted ahfd it is de-- sired to restore the lines to normal condition the calling-subscribers line at'once. v

Theoperation of our device as illustrated v to accomplish the results just described is as follows: The operator first removes the receiver' from its hook in the ordinary manner, permitting the hook to rise under the infidence of its spring 48, solifting the arm 59 of the detent device associated with the lever 28 3,1111 bringing the detent into :opera- In'- practice the lifting of the hook also serves to cut'in the subscribers talking set, as will be well understood. Now

the wheel 15 is initially rotated in a forward direction until a desired number of its teeth have passed the forwai'dly projecting arni of the bell-crank 28. The dete'nt57 being now held under'thejinfluence of its spring 60 in operative position, the depending'arm of the bell-crank is prevented from moving rear wardly, so that the wheel 15 is held against return to its normal position under tension of its spring 23. Now the wheel 15? is rotated until a number of teeth corresponding-with the number of the subscriber desired tobe called have passed thehorizontal arm of the I The movement of the wheel 15 having removed the pin 63 from engagement with'the arm 59- of the detent mechanism, the detent is in operative position, so that the lever 28 is caused -to. actlas a. stop,- and -wheel 15 is alsoheld against return toits initial positiom-- Now thesegment 31*is r'b-.

tated by means of 'thehandle 34 being given a turn sufhcient tol causeboth the cams 35 and 36' to pass their respective.bell-crank levers 28 and 28. The detent devices of both l of said levers being free to 'operate', each lejver' 28 ans-128 is held against -move'ment to permit the return passage of its cam.

It willbenoted that during the initial 0-5. forward movement ,of the segment membr; 31 the pin 7 0 contacts with the operating-arm 68-of the rockshaft' 65, depressing said arm.

and correspondinglythe {arm 69 on the opposite end of the shaft The'elbow 69' and the arm '69 being arranged to overlie the operating-arm 59 of the detent devices associated with wheel-15, said arm 59is depressed, removi ng thedetenti 57 from the path'of oscillation .ofthe depending arm of bell-crank lever 28. Consequently the wheel 15 isnowffree to re- .fturnto its normal position under tension of its spring, in its movement oscillating the hell-crank lever 28 and moving the depending arm thereof rearwardly to cause the springs 25 and 26 to close one or more-times, so grounding the side Z of the line one or more times. As the wheel approaches its normal .position its pin 63 strikes the arm 59 of the dctent mechanism of the wheel 15, depressing 1 said arm and moving thedetent 57 to inoperative position. Now the wheel 15 returns to normal position in mannerlike wheel 15, in its return movement actuating the translatingdevice to close the springs and 26 a number of times corresponding with the number of teeth passing the translating'device, and so grounding the side Zof theline a like number of times to cause the automatic exchange devices to select the number of the subscriber desired. The return of the wheel 15 to normal position actuates the releasing-arm of the detent devices of the lever 28", so that the cam is free to pass its said lever 28". During the return movement of the cam 35 the springs 37 and 38 will be closed for a period of time, depending upon the length of the peripheral face of the cam, again grounding the side Z of the line for a corresponding time. This results in ringing the subscriber desired to be called and completes the preliminary steps necessary to secure connection of the calling and called subscribers. If one ring is not sufiicient to attract the attention of the party desired, the handle 34 may be again pulled down,and when released, the transmitting device notbeing held by its detent, the cam memberpvill return past the translating device, again closing the circuit through the springs 37 and 38 and again ringing the called subscriber. It will be noted, however, that as long as the receiver is oif its book the operating-arm 59 of the detent mechanism remains in elevated position, preventing the rearward movement of the depending arm of the bell-crank lever 28", and so prevents the cam 36 from passing said lever. When now the calling subscriber desires to restore the line to its normal condition, he has but to hang up the receiver on its hook to accomplish the desired result. The alepression of the hook by the weight of the receiver moves the detent mechanism to inoperative position, allowingthe cam 36 to pass the projecting armof the bell-crank lever and return to normal position. The movement of the lever thus occasioned causes the springs and4l to close upon spring 39, thereby connecting both sides I and l of the subscribers line to the" ground-Wire r The partsare now all restored to their initial positions ready for operation anew. 1

In the foregoing description the primary actuating-devices are referred to as three in number; but it will be apparent that any number of such devices may be used as may be found necessary to suit its particular use, the system of auxiliary mechanisms being simplyv carried out to eorrespond with the incl-3 of actuating devices.

While we have herein shown in detail one operative embodiment of our inventiori especially adapted for use in conjunction with our peculia. exchange system, we do not desire to be understood as limiting ourselves either. to the exact construction shown or the use of thedevice in the system referred to.

Having thus described our'invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. 'In a device of the character described a series of independently-movable actuating devices, adapted to be set for sending prede-- termined signals, means associated with each device for holding it in set-position, means for moving said devices when the holding devices are released, means associated with each actuating device for releasing the holding means of some other actuating device in'the series, one of said releasing means being arranged to be actuated by the setting of the actuating de vice with which it is associated.

2. In a device of the character described a series of independently-movable actuating devices adapted to be set'for sending predetermined signals, means associated with each actuating device for holding it in set position, means for moving said devices when the holding means are released, means associated with each actuating device for releasing the holding means of the next succeeding device throughout the series, the releasing means of the last actuating device-in series being arranged to operate upon the holdingmeans of the first device of the series and being arranged to be actuated by the setting of the last actuating device of the series.

3. In adevice of the character described, a series of actuating devices independently movable in either direction, means tending to move said-devices in one direction, instrumentalities associated with each actuating device to hold the same in set position against the stress of its moving means, and means associated with each actuating device for tripping the holding device of another actuating device of the series, all of said tripping means except one being arranged to operate upon the return of the corresponding actuating device from set position, and one such tripping means being arranged to operate during the movement of its actuating device to set position.

4:. In a multiple-circuit closer, the combination with a frame, of a series of primary actuating devices supported therein for rotative movement, circuit-closing devices operativelyassociated with each actuating device, movable holding means associated with each primary actuating device, each adapted and arranged when in one position to hold itsasso-'= r2 ciated primary actuating device against functionally-operative movement, and a mechan- Y ical releasing means associated with each hold ing device for moving the same to inoperative positlon, the releasing means associated with v the holding device of'eachprimary actuating 5. In a multiple-circuit closer, as com bina? tion with a frame, of aseries'of primary actuat'ing devices supported thereby for rotatlve movement, circuit=closing jdeyices associated with each primary actnatingi device and arranged'tobe operated by the movement of the saidactuating device in one direction only, a detent operatively associated with eachprimaryactuati ng device" prevent its movement'inlsnch direction as to operate the cir-' 'cuit-closing devices, releasing means associated with each detent, adapted when-actuated to move said detent, to inoperative position, and a mechanical means associated with each primary actuating .device for operating the detent-releasing means-of the-actuating device nextin sequence thereto throughout the series.

62 In'a multiple-circuitcloser, asupportingframe, ,pri-mary actuating devices mounted thereinFfor independent movement, circuitelosing' devices associated'with each primary actuating device, a motion-transmitting in-.

'strumentality arranged between each primary "actuatingdevice and its associated circuit-clos :ing devices, a deten t associated with each trans mitting instrumentahty adapted when in op-.

era'tive position to prevent the functionallyoperative movement of said motion-transmitting instrumentality, releasing means for each detent, adapted to move the same-to inoperative position,such releasing means, for each detent except the first being-operatively'asso p im a uat-i ing device for actuation thereby, and the rebeing oper-.

ciated with the nextadjacent leasingmeans for the first detent atively associated with the last primary actuating device for actuation thereby.

7.;- Inaa multiple-circuit closer, the Cambium tiontwith'a frameyof a series oftoothed actu x, v ating members mounted therein-for independ ent movement, means associated with each actuating memberfor normally holding itat one limit of its member, a pivoted lever interposed between each actuating member and its contact-springs, arranged to operate said springsqduring the return of the actuating membertonormal position after an initial movementlthe'refrom, a

ovable holding device associated with each ever and arranged tonormal ly' prevent movem'entthereof in the springmperating .direc- I movement, .and returning it to said limit when moved therefrom, circuit-- {closingsprlngs associated with each actuating aour own'we a for each holding detion', a releasing means by each primary acvice, andjmeans carried tuating' device for actuating the releasing de- 1 vice associated with another actuating device of the series, the arrangement being such that .the returnmovement of the first primary actuating device actuates'the releasing means rate its associated circuit-closingsprings.

9. In a callingdevic'eiorautomatic tele phone-exchange systems, the combination of aframe,arotatableactuatingmembermounted therein, and provided with two laterally'and ing the springs, but to actuate the springs past said transmitting instrumentality, holding means adapted when in operative position ,to preventpassage of the uppermost cam past its transmitting instrumentalitma receiver: hook, a'connec'tion between said receiver-hook and the said holdingmeans, adapted when the ,iaci'veris on its hook to move means to inoperative position,

and a spring formov nglsald receiver --ho'e'k when the re- -ceiver is removed-therefrom to bring the hold,

mg'meansto operative position.

III-13881511110115 that we claim the foregoing as ifix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

- JOHN K, NORSTRO'M.

HENRY M. GRAIF.

In presence off- MARY: F. ALLEN,- Gnonea ,1. MAY, Jr'.

ciated with each set ofsprings, adapted to be: actuated by the corresponding cam, to operperipherally separated earns, a spring for nor cam, associated adapted and arupon the return of the cam to normal position,

said holding Ibo 

